


Sit With You In the Dark

by theminiummark



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Accidental Dating, Breakup, Future Fic, Geno makes a life outside of hockey, Living Together, M/M, best friends raising kids together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-16 13:36:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11254029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theminiummark/pseuds/theminiummark
Summary: In Geno’s final year as a Penguin, unexpected changes happen in his personal life. Sid has his back in ways he never anticipated.





	Sit With You In the Dark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [protect_rosie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/protect_rosie/gifts).



Geno just stares at the closed door in shock. He can’t deny that it had been coming for a while, now that he is looking back. Anna has said some very poignant things, areas of their life together that he has been deliberately avoiding or blatantly ignoring. He just didn’t think that she would walk out on him on the weekend before his last training camp. In all honesty, he didn’t let himself believe that she would walk away from him at all. Hearing her words, though, she has needed to get away. 

She is hurting. 

Because of him. 

She tries, so hard with him.

He has buried that along with the issues he wouldn't face. What is he to do now? 

The preparations for a team cook-out are strewn all around the kitchen and the boys are playing in the backyard loudly enough for Geno to hear their laughter and exuberance. When it registers that she really left them, not just him, Geno has to sit down hard in his usual chair in the breakfast nook. He leans his elbows on the table and groans out his defeat. What can he tell Nikita and Lev? She has mentioned that she didn’t feel it right to dump this on the boys, to take them from their home right now, but she needs some time away from him.

His thoughts spin as he just tries to breath through the pain of her telling him that he wasn't enough anymore, that their love maybe was never enough. He can't even think of the rest of their fight, can't even understand. Doesn't want to, maybe. He is just caught in the loop of her saying she needs to be away from him for a while. 

A knock at the door jolts Geno from his thoughts. It opens, letting in the sound of little feet and a high excited voice, followed by heavier footsteps and an answering timber that had Geno relaxing out of reflex. 

A blond head the height of his counter-tops speeds by on his way to the backyard, throwing a parting, “Hi, Geno! Bye, Geno!” as he goes. Geno lifts a dazed hand in a wave that he’s sure wasn’t seen. 

Geno closes his eyes when Sid walks into the kitchen. For all that he is glad that Sid is here, he still has no words to even begin to describe what is happening in Russian, let alone English. 

He hears Sid pause as he takes in Geno. He knows the sound of that sigh, too, and knows Sid knows without him having to say anything more. Sid sets the bags he must have brought down on the table, pulling out a beer and twisting off the top, before setting it in front of Geno with a quiet click. 

Geno opens his eyes to stare at it, watching a drop of condensation slip down the side of the bottle. Sid pulls out a chair next to Geno’s and places a warm, comforting hand on the back of Geno’s neck. He leans into it. Sid has his phone in his other hand, typing out a text. He sets it on the table face down, rubbing his thumb at Geno’s hairline, just behind his ear. 

“What happened?” he asks in a soft voice.

Geno swallows. He doesn’t know if he can talk about it yet. 

“Don’t want to talk about it?”

Geno nods a little. Is he that easy to read?

Sid sighs again, tightening his hand a bit. “I sent a group text to the team. When I saw your face, it seemed like a team cookout was a bad idea right now. Want me and Ro to go?”

Geno is already shaking his head, risking a look into Sid’s face. Whatever Sid sees there makes his eyes go soft. 

“Yeah, alright, we’ll stay,” Sid says, his voice warm like his hand. “Want some time to yourself?”

That was the best thing he heard since the door slammed not even a half an hour ago. Geno nods and gulps the beer in front of him down. He grabs a bottle of vodka they had out for the party on the way out of the kitchen, and heads up to the master bedroom, Sid’s boisterous voice following up the stairs as he tells the boys, “Rowan and I are staying for a sleepover! Let’s go outside and see who can get the most goals past me.”

The boys chorus their agreement, and Geno knows that Sid is giving him the space and safety to lose himself for a while. 

+++++++++

Geno wakes the next morning feeling like his brain is too big for his skull, and his mouth tastes like the inside of his hockey bag smells. He’s laying on his back, which he never does, if he can help it, and his bladder is so full, he thinks if he moves he could have a problem. 

When he finally gathers enough gumption to open his eyes, the room is dark. Either he slept an entire day away, or it is still very early Sunday morning. Now that he is more aware, he also finds he is not alone in his bed. There’s a warm presence, keeping him warm, wrapped in strong arms to hold him close. He turns his head to see 

Sid’s laying on his side, knees tucked up close to Geno’s hip, and his arm thrown across Geno’s chest. He breathes soft and even. Geno can’t do anything but stare. He doesn’t remember much from last night...really most of yesterday. He remembers Sid moving him from the chair in the little alcove in the room to the bed, gently taking a bottle of vodka gently out of his hand and leading him to the bed. 

He remembers talking, too. Mostly in Russian. Then, not much else. 

He closes his eyes, trying to put his memories back in order, wanting to think around the fuzz that is his head, but before he can work anything else out, he’s asleep again. 

+++++++++

Geno wakes the next morning to an empty bed and a stomach that feels as though it wants to claw its way out of his mouth, whether he likes it or not. He spends several of the next few minutes in the bathroom, trying to feel human again after heaving up what seemed like all of his organs. He brushes his teeth and splashes his face several times over with cool water, finding his eyes in the mirror over the towel as he finishes patting himself down, he takes in his drawn features and recalls what brought him to this moment. 

Fuck.

He supposes it must be good that most of the day and night is gone from his memories. What he does remember makes him groan and he supposes that he can’t hide in his bathroom all day. Then he could hide from more than just the memories of his behavior last night, but also the memories of the life that Anna and he built together. Just being in their room was too much, and he had to face the rest of the house. But the boys wouldn’t let him wallow. He’s surprised they haven’t come and found him yet. 

Then he remembers Sid. 

+++++++++

Thank fuck for Sid. 

Geno comes down just in time for lunch, he finds, glancing at the clock. The boys are sitting at the kitchen island. Rowan and Lev, closest in age, on one side of Sid, and Nikita on the other. They are making what, he thinks, are supposed to be small pizzas, but are looking more like mounds of cheese and meat toppings. 

“Guys, if you want them cook through, you’re gonna have to use less,” Sid admonishes. “Just make two.” 

“Yeah! Two pizzas!” Shouts Lev, already spooning more sauce onto the little round dough and spreading the toppings from one to the other. 

Rowan is meticulously building his own pizza, placing each ingredient down with the utmost care, each piece to his exact specification. 

Nikita seems to be going for the more is better route, as he now has three pizzas loaded with cheese and sausage. 

“Mine will taste the best,” Nikita says proudly, handing his pizzas to Sid to be put in the oven. Geno is fiercely reminded of dinner on off days. His chest throbs along with his head. Nicky helps Lev put his finishing touches on his pizza, sneaking a few bites of pepperoni, when he spots Geno. 

“Papa, Sid told us you were feeling sad,” he says as he comes and hugs Geno around the waist. Even at his seven whole years of age, Nicky is following in his footsteps, the top of his head hitting the middle of Geno’s stomach. He feels his throat close up a little, and he tightens his arms around his oldest, not letting him go until his brother wormed his way in with them. Even then, Geno holds them both close for a few minutes longer. 

“Yes, I was,” Geno says into his son’s hair as he lays a kiss on his head. “We talk more later.”

His son looks understanding, and Geno wonders how much he will need to explain. He looks up and catches Sid’s eye. Sid’s eyes are a little narrowed, but his face smooths to a grin when their eyes meet. 

“You didn’t die! I wondered for a minute,” he chirps. “Want to eat something, or just want your tea?”

Tea sounds amazing. 

Geno sits at the table and lets out a grunt that must have translated as what he wanted, because five minutes later, there was a steaming cup of tea just the way he liked it in front of him. He sat and sipped and listened to the sounds of happy people for just a few minutes. 

+++++++++

Geno watches Sid rinse the dishes and stack them in the dishwasher. He's broad and brawny from his summer training, and Geno focuses on the play of Sid’s muscles under the skin of his forearms, shining from the water. Sid stacks the last dish in the rack and starts the cycle, and turning to Geno and leaning against the counter, his hands getting shoved into his pockets.

“Do you want to talk about it now?”

Geno doesn't. He wishes he could pretend it isn't happening, and that ignoring it would all make it go away. That the pain that is now a permanent fixture in his ribs would disappear. That they would go back to a happy family of four. 

Instead, he clears his throat.

“We had problems for a while,” he starts. “Tried to make work for kids. For hockey.” He shrugs, his shoulders feeling like they were weighed down. “But in the end, we just didn't love each other that way anymore. Not the way she needed.” 

Sid comes close, then, sitting down next to Geno. 

“You still love her, though?”

Geno nods, rubbing at his chest. His voice rasps when he continues, “She said it wasn't enough. That I hadn't - _wouldn't-_ sacrifice for her. Way she had for me.”

He looked down at the table, tracing the grain of the wood with his finger.

“Not even sure what started it yesterday. Said something insensitive, probably. I could tell it was wrong thing. Said she couldn't take it. Would come back Tuesday before camp, see boys, get things, couldn't be around me anymore. Didn’t want to have the boys see us fight, see her mad at me. Thought taking them from the house right now was a bad idea.”

Sid made a noise, like he wanted to say something, but it. It’s like his words got caught up in his throat.Geno echoed the noise in sympathy. “Maybe still can be fixed,” he said low and gruff. “But I'm not think so. Seemed like over.”

Sid grips his wrist. He squeezes gently, saying, so soft and careful.

“I'm so sorry, G.”

Geno can only nod, swallowing hard, his eyes stinging. He's glad that Sid leaves his hand there, doesn't push him to say more than what he can.

“Have to tell boys today. They need to know.”

“Do you want me to stay?”

Geno wishes he could say yes. He wouldn't be dealing with it as well as he was without him, but - “I need to do with just them.”

Sid nods, squeezing his wrist. “Okay. Rowan and I will go in a few. Text or call me if you need anything?” 

Geno can only nod, glad he can feel something other than crushing loss and grief. He is so grateful he has Sid in his life.

+++++++++

“Boys, we need to talk.”

Both boys look up, solemn at Geno’s tone and the fact that he is using Russian, the language he is most comfortable in, when he comes the door of the play room. The both come to him, Lev not hesitating to hug Geno around the waist. He rests his hand on his hair, smoothing it back from his eyes. He meets Nicky’s eyes, giving him a smile as he did.

He motions them into the den, settling them all in the big oversized chair. His arms around both of his boys, he begins.

“We need to talk about Mama.”

The rest of the conversation is the worst that he has ever had to have. Worst than when he told him mama he was running away from the KHL, worst from the conversation he had to have with Sid over ten years ago now, the worst he can ever recall. 

He tries to choose words that are simple and not too complicated. The facts of the matter are, however, stupidly complicated. Geno is still breathing through the betrayal and it makes telling Nicky and Lev what’s going on harder. He didn’t know what his boys needed from him, wonders if he even has it in him to provide it to them, if he hasn’t been able to give Anna what she needed. 

“Papa and Mama are going to be apart for a little while, maybe from now on.”

Nicky is looking scared, but Lev asks the important question.

“Why?”

Geno clears his throat, trying to come up with the best words. 

“You know how sometimes, you can do something mean to Nicky and you need to be alone and away from each other for a while?”

They nod, both faces scrunched up over some memory of a past fault. 

“Well, this is a little bit like that,” he continues. “But it may make Mama happier, if I’m not around very much at all.”

Lev starts crying then, Nicky not far off behind him. 

“Still love you, still love Mama,” he says, voice getting rough. “Just need some time.” 

He answers what questions he can, and then just holds them all close, as Lev cries and Nicky folds in on himself. He feels like a failure in the worst way. The more he has been thinking, the more he knows the fault is with him.

Geno feels lost. Hopelessly hurt and worried, so all he can do is hug his boys to his chest, and wish he could go back and do something different. 

+++++++++

The door opens that following Tuesday, when Geno is about out of his mind in trying to wrangle him, his gear, his sons, and _their_ gear, all in the direction of the door so they can make it to the Pens’ practice facility. 

Geno will be honest, he forgot completely about training camp in the days after Anna left. He most definitely did not remember that the boys would need looking after while he is at training camp. Which left him with running around in a panic the morning of, unable to find someone to come watch them, then in a resigned frenzy of teeth brushing and cereal, realizing he would have to bring them with him. 

Then, the door opens. 

Anna is there. 

He stands there stupidly, not a thought in any language able to form right now, as the boys crowd her, hugging and chattering away in Russian at hundred miles an hour. He watches as she kneels down, gathering the boys to her, hugging them tight and close, kissing them all over their faces. 

Geno sighs and closes his eyes. Anna knows exactly what she is doing, showing up just now. She knows his schedule better than he does. She also understands Geno in a way he thought no one would after Sid, so she expected to find him like this, stressed to his limit. He has no way to argue right now, there is no time. He can only nod to her and say, “Will you be here later to talk?”

She doesn’t nod back and her expression is definitely neutral. “Yes.” 

Geno just nods again, calling the boys to him and giving them hugs and musses up their hair and he goes. 

A part of him is relieved, but he knows she’s not back to stay. She wouldn’t have left in the first place, if she ever had intended to return. No, he is relieved that at least, the boys have her back for now, and he doesn’t have to think about anything other than hockey. 

Hockey is the one thing, the last thing, he feels, that he is good at. 

So he goes and plays hockey. 

+++++++++

Geno is getting old. His knees are all but bionic at this point, but they still ache like a bitch. 

He hugs out a breath after a line rush, and watches the rookies zip around the ice. He thinks fondly back to his own rookie season, and wonders how he still feels so dumb and confused as he did then. 

He sucks it up though and bestows plenty of veteran “wisdom” to each rookie he deems worthy of his time.

He catches Sid’s eye across the rink and can't help his answering smile to Sid. At least some things haven't changed.

For the rest of the ice time, Geno focuses on the feel of his body, pushing every muscle as he flies down the ice. He forgets about everything but the sound of skates on ice, of sticks rattling of shots, of his breathing coming as hard as he works. He pushes himself to be as good as he can be, as far as his body will allow. 

When they walk off the ice, his heart and body are rung out. Sid taps his stick to his legs and follows him off. The locker room fills with buoyant rookies and chirping veterans, giving it a warm feeling. Geno loves this time of year. 

He takes a moment, just letting it wash over him. His eyes fall shut, opening lazily when someone sits next to him. Sid is down to his under armour and he sits with Geno quietly, taking in the room with him, a smile playing at his mouth. 

As the room empties out, Sid turns to him, eyes serious now. “How are things?”

Geno just grumbles under his breath, closing his eyes again. Somehow it makes it easier to tell these truths when he isn’t looking the world in the face. 

“Anna came by this morning,” he says with a sigh. “We’re going to talk.”

Sid makes a humming noise in response. “Want me to take the boys this afternoon?”

Geno looks at Sid, taking in his earnest face, and wonders again at what he did to have Sid stick with him all this time. 

“Ask Anna, it's a good idea,” Geno says. “You want to follow me back?”

Sid shrugs, “Sure. Let me finish up.” He gives Geno a glance, before his mouth quirks in a grin, “Although, I may beat you to it, lazy.” He lets out a laugh as Geno swats at him for that chirp. 

“I’m not lazy, that Nealer,” Geno shoots back, “still so bad at chirp, Sid.” 

Sid, still laughing, goes back to his stall to finish his after skate routine. It gets Geno moving, though, and they walk out to their cars together. 

+++++++++

Geno hates that he wants to avoid his own home. He wishes he could stick his head in the sand for a little bit longer, and maybe when he comes out it will all have gone back to normal. 

Sadly, that kind of thinking got him into this mess to begin with. And that’s left him here, in his car, in his driveway, dreading the moment he and Anna have to talk. He startles as Sid closes the door to his Rover and he watches Sid in the rearview mirror walk up to him. He has the door open by the time Sid gets to him, but he can’t make his feet move. 

Sid settles his weight on the car, hands in his pockets. Geno feels Sid’s eyes rove over his face, before he lets out a little huff, and Sid’s warm hand settles on Geno’s neck. It’s a steady weight, grounding in a way Geno hasn’t needed in a long time. Suddenly, he can breathe again, and he takes a deep inhale, before pushing himself to his feet and closing the car door softly. 

It’s easier taking the steps to his house, having Sid at his back. 

The house echoes a bit as they make their way inside, towing their shoes off. The boys must be outside again, or the house would have been reverberating with their energy. Instead, Anna appears from the den, and suddenly Geno’s skin feels too small. 

His mouth dries up and anything he thought to say was gone. 

“Hey, Anna,” Sid says, rescuing him again. “Is it still okay to take the boys with me? I know we texted, but I wanted to double check. That way you both have some time to talk?”

Anna looks just as relieved as Geno feels with the out that Sid gives them. She nods and helps Sid round up some stuff for the boys, sending Geno a look he can’t read over her shoulder. He stands there for a long minute, berating himself for being a coward, before he decides to bite the bullet and help Sid and Anna get the boys loaded into Sid’s SUV.

Sid leaves him with an encouraging smile and an empty porch with a relationship he needs to figure out how to end. 

+++++++++

The room is oppressive with all they aren't saying. Geno can’t look at her.

The distance is palpable, between who they were and how they are now. Any hope that he had of them reconciling dies with every strained moment. He has no words to say, even now. What could he say to make things better? They have already broken apart to where they are now. 

“So, I’ve been at a hotel, but I can’t stay there forever.” 

Anna is always the bravest of the two of them. 

“I know,” he says. He nods in her direction, eyes still on the carpet. She sighs at him. 

“I am planning on staying in the states until your season is up. With you retiring this year, I thought it would be best not to shake things up too much with the boys,” she says, gently. “I do still care about you, Zhenya.”

He gains the courage to look at her finally with those words. She’s smiling at him a little, even as her eyes are shiny with tears. Geno feels the same way she looks. 

“Thank you,” he rasps, his throat clogged with too many tears he’s holding back. 

“And because I care,” she continues, “my lawyer is drawing up the paperwork according to our pre-nuptial agreement. I don’t have anything else I need or want, and we talked about all of this a long time ago. I think the most important thing about this, though, is the boys.”

Geno nods again. She is right, and he knows what he needs to do. The right thing to do. 

“I am sorry, Anya,” he starts.

“Oh, Zhenya, I know,” she says, tears finally falling down her cheeks. “But this isn’t any one person’s fault. We may hurt for a while, but this is the right thing to do.”

“Yes, I see that now. It’s also why I must insist that you come back home. I should not have made you feel you need to leave the boys or our home. In fact, I can leave. Either stay with someone on the team or in a hotel until I find another place.”

She seemed a little startled. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” he says firmly. “This is right for you and the boys. They need you and the stability. I am gone a lot anyway. This is your _home,_ Anya. It seems like the best choice.”

Geno’s gaze goes to the floor again, and he clears his throat. “Love you, Anya.”

He sees her get up from the corner of his eye, and has to close them when she presses a kiss to his brow. 

“I love you, too.”

+++++++++

“How did everything go?” Sid asks when he brings the boys back that evening. Anna is greeting the boys and corralling them inside. Geno doesn’t know what he is going to say when he goes back inside. 

He shrugs. “As good as it could.” He says. “Anna is going to stay at the house, need to find somewhere to stay until find new place.”

“You can stay with me? It’s just me and Ro, so we have lots of space, so Lev and Nicky will have rooms, too.” Sid tries to make it sound like a suggestion, but Geno can tell he doesn’t want Geno to go anywhere else. It brings a smile to his face, his captain still so bossy. 

“And it’s close by, so you won’t have to worry about school and practice and our games. We can just all go together,” he adds.

“Okay,” he says simply. He’s not going to argue with his captain who clearly has his mind made up. And it will be easier. “Will be over later? Want to talk to boys, pack.”

Sid nods, then looks like he might give Geno a hug, before deciding against it and bumping a fist on his shoulder. “Just text me when you’re on your way.”

+++++++++

“We can share my nanny, Joy. I talked with her a little and she seems like she will be fine with with helping with Lev and Nicky. She’s the best, but you know that.” Sid says all of this the next morning as they are getting ready to leave for morning skate. He just drops it into conversation like this is the most natural, best next step to take. 

Geno can’t help but agree, because he hasn’t ever done this alone before, and they never really used a nanny before. “That way, when you have the boys over here, it’ll be easier and you don’t have to worry.”

Sid smiles at him, like he knows all of Geno’s thoughts. He didn’t think he said it any of it out loud, though. 

Sid just carries on, asking what would be a good time for Geno to meet Joy and Sid would talk with Anna to arrange it, if Geno didn’t want to talk with her. 

Geno agrees with that, too, because it’s just so much easier. 

Then Geno just lets Sid come in and run his life for a little bit. Let’s him cook dinner before games and get the boys to school and lessons and practices. Let’s him run the homework review and science fair projects.

He has gotten so used to being with Anna, how even when they were fighting horrific fights, she was still there. She defined him outside of hockey, too. Her and the boys. Being a single father to them, too is hard. 

He misses them when they are with their mother. 

That’s a big change, too. 

Sid makes that easier, though. Sharing his time with Geno when they are on the road. Making sure that Geno and the boys are eating and sleeping well when he is with the boys. While Sid keeps things organized and from completely falling apart, Geno leans on him and falls apart a little bit. 

One morning, Geno wakes up, and realizes they are well into December, and he is still living with Sid and Rowan. He hadn’t even thought to leave and find a place of his own for weeks now. 

+++++++++

Geno likes to watch Sid with the boys. He knows that Sid is great with kids, and he is one of the best fathers he knows to Rowan. It really never was a surprise when Sid had told the team quietly, after months of meetings and deliberation that he was adopting a distant cousin on his mother’s side as his son. Rowan had lost his parents to a car accident, and Sid had been named godfather. It's always been a unanimous belief if anyone could manage it on his own, it would be Sid. 

But, living with Sid, interacting with Sid and Rowan every day, and three days a week and every other weekend with the boys was like getting a deeper glimpse of Sid that no one else ever got to see. 

Sid gives everything to the boys. Every spare moment, smile, and hug goes to them in abundance. Geno is quickly drawn in as well, unable to keep away from Sid’s affection. It’s a balm to Geno’s battered heart. It allows him to disengage a bit, to sort through his own thoughts and emotions of his and Anya’s divorce. 

He is apathetic to everything but the next game, the next practice, the next work out. Sidney makes it so easy, so simple, that he doesn’t take the time to focus on the right things. Sid talks more with Anna now, than he ever did. Sid makes sure everyone goes where they need to and that they all are eating and sleeping properly. 

“Geno, we are going for a walk,” Sid’s voice breaks through the haze. “Then Lev and Ro need to collect leaves for their science collage and Nicky want to go check out the new trail by the river. Are you...coming along?”

Geno’s sitting ensconced on the couch, watching halfheartedly as SportsNet goes on about something the Oilers are doing right again, icing his knee from practice that morning. Taking a hike, because that is what it will be with Sid and his kids planning the excursion, is the last thing he wants to do right now. 

He waves a hand, shaking his head with a gruff no that comes out as more of a grunt than a word. 

The room gets quiet, and Geno barely notices as Lev comes to hug him, but Nicky just heads to the door. Sid calls out good-bye, with one last “are you sure you don’t want to come?” Then they are out the door and the house is silent.

Geno just starts to doze off when he realizes the house is so quiet. 

+++++++++

Just like it took Anna actually needing time away from him to get him to see how he had failed them, it takes Sid barreling into his room at two in the morning with a sobbing Lev in his arms. Sid glares at him over Lev's shoulder, and he knows that he’s screwed up all over again. The one thing that he never let falter, from the moment he heard their heartbeats, is his devotion to being a good dad to his children. They deserve the world from him. He’s failed in this, now, too. 

“Are you leaving us?” his son sobs, as soon as they move to Geno’s bed. Geno’s arms are already tight around him, but they close further when he hears the trembling words. 

“ _No,_ baby boy, no,” Geno can only think of to say, rocking them back and forth. 

“But you’re different now,” Lev continues, a little stronger now, meeting Geno’s eyes with lashes clumped together with tears, his lip trembling. “Ever since you left Mama and the house, you hardly ever see us. You just play _hockey._ ”

Geno goes cold. He’s allowing hockey to hurt someone so precious, someone he had vowed to put higher than anything else, and he’s letting his pain to hurt others and he hates himself more than when Anna had told him almost the same.

“Oh, my son,” he forces out around the ache deep in his chest, squeezing the air from his lungs. “I’m so sorry that I made you think that, and have been such a bad Papa. You deserve much better than me.”

He loses the fight with his tears as his son throws his arms around his neck like he used to do when he was a toddler and clings to him. 

“I just want _you,_ Papa! Please don’t go.”

Geno holds him as close as he can to himself, making promise after promise that he won’t leave, that he will always be there. 

Sid holds them both close, murmuring quiet comforting sounds, his hands making broad sweeps over their backs. He doesn’t give his opinion, though, letting Geno dig himself from this hole he put himself in. Sid doesn’t stay, quietly leaving the room as Geno lays his son down on his bed with him, running his fingers through his hair. 

“I’m sorry, that I made you feel like I was leaving,” he whispers to Lev, holding him closer. “Papa is hurting, but he didn’t mean to make you hurt so much, too.”

He tilts his son’s face up, wiping the tears and trying to smile. “I’m do better, I promise.”

He can tell that Lev doesn’t quite believe him, yet, but he is going to do better. Be better. 

Geno wakes the next morning, looks at his son, sleeping deeply beside him, his little face still puffy from the tears the night before. Geno takes the visual reminder of the night before as the wake up call Anna’s leaving should have been. He’s lost his way, and needs to make this right. He still has the chance with his boys, he can’t let them slip through his fingers. He removes his head from his ass and starts thinking of ways on how he is going to deal. 

+++++++++

Christmas is the turning point for Geno. The holidays are always one of his favorite times of the year, and with their schedule this year, Geno gets the boys on New Year’s weekend. 

They start the morning of New Year’s bright and early. Rowan had insisted on saving the gifts he got from Sid and Geno on Christmas day, so he could open them with Nikita and Lev. All three boys must have tackled Sid first, because he’s leaning in the doorway to Geno’s room as he is awakened by three grinning, wiggling boys. Sid’s smile is tired, but big. He herds them downstairs to the tree in the den, the boys managing to fill the whole house with their shouts of joy. 

“Too, early, boys,” Geno groans theatrically, allowing Lev to grasp his fingers and pull him down the stairs. Geno drags his feet, and Rowan and Nicky come around behind him at the bottom of the stairs to push him into the den. 

“Come on, Papa!” Lev shouts, huffing has he pulls with all his might. “It’s time for presents.”

Geno settles on the sofa, still yawning and rubbing his eyes, but happy with his lapful of Lev, who is probably vibrating with his excitement. Sid tells them to wait a minute while he starts the coffee, and the boys groan, but try to wait patiently. Ro is kneeling next to the tree, sitting on his hands so as not to touch any of the gifts. 

Nicky is checking the tags and sorting the presents into piles. Geno’s shock over the size of each pile makes his breath catch. He knows he didn’t do a good job this year, had rushed the last minute to find something for all the boys, including Rowan. He just didn’t realize that Sid tried to out-do him. 

Sid returns, holding a tray of mugs. He has hot chocolate for the boys, and he hands Geno an extra large mug, with tea, not coffee, made just as he liked. 

“Okay, boys,” Sid says as he curls into the opposite end of the sectional sofa. “Have at it.”

Lev swoops and leaps from Geno’s lap, nearly upending his tea in his haste. They fall on their piles of presents like wolves on their prey, shrieking in delight with everything new. 

There is new skates for Rowan _and_ Lev, which Geno hasn’t even realized he needed new skates. Nikita was exclaiming over a science kit, that Sid was carefully pointing out different equipment. 

Geno feels left out, but he only has himself to blame. Deciding to hide his disappointment in himself by pulling out his phone to film and narrate the gift-giving frenzy. 

He finds the clothes he picked out for the boys, all three with matching Pens hoodies. They all put them on over their pajamas, posing for Geno as they showed them off. 

Geno has to come out from behind his phone when Nicky hands him a gift. He glances over at Sid, his heart squeezing in his chest. He hasn’t thought about getting something for Sid. His focus on the boys over took any thought of Sid. He realizes he should have, now, but it shouldn’t have taken a gift to remember to have gotten his closest friend something to celebrate the season with. 

Geno pulls the boy to open the small box. Nestled on blue velvet, where two cufflinks, each engraved with Lev and Nikita’s birth dates. Geno’s throat closes with emotion and he touches each one reverently with a fingertip. He looks to Sid again, and catches his familiar purse of his lips as he watches Geno back. 

Geno drags up a smile that feels fragile. 

“Thanks, Sid,” he says, voice a little rough. “Very beautiful.”

Sid smiles softly, nodding a bit, before turning to Rowan who is showing Sid the gift cards Geno has stuffed in their stockings along with the candy he bought as a last minute addition. 

Geno stares down at the cufflinks, blinking rapidly to clear his sight from the tears clouding it. The gift feels like a balm. Sid knows him, and he hasn’t felt so undeserving before. He feels even more resolved to prove Sid’s faith in him true. 

As he looks around at these kids, his captain, he strengthens his vow to do better for them. 

+++++++++

Geno makes an effort every day to get his head out of hockey and to find the balance. There are so many little things he’s missed; it’s amazing. He makes an effort to be present when the boys are around, getting involved in their play, their projects, their practices. It’s who he was before he became just Geno, but he forgot he was Nikita and Lev’s papa first. 

Every moment with them reminds him of who he really is, how hockey isn’t all that he is good at, that the single best calling he has in life is to be everything for his sons. 

And when the boys are with their mother, and he misses them, misses who they were so much - to keep himself from spiralling, he seeks out the rookies. He spends time with their infectious energy and zeal for life and the ice, letting them bolster him up. And if he gets to impart his particular type of wisdom, he’s not going to let the opportunity go to waste. 

He and Lev spend hours at night, with “Just one more, book, Papa, please?” Lev loves story books, and Geno loves having him in his lap, held close. 

Nikita is really growing up. He sits with him when he does his homework, and Geno sees how serious Nicky takes each subject. His competitive nature applies to his grades, too, making him want to be the best. Geno knows he got that from Anna. Seeing her in Nicky doesn’t give him a jolt of pain like it used too, but now just makes him fonder. He hopes that Nicky stays the best of both of them. 

Mostly, though, he notices Sid. 

He sees how the boys listen to Sid. How they are attuned to him and want to please him in the same way they do with him and Anna. He sees how Sid doesn’t hold anything back, treats them as he treats Rowan. 

He finds out that Rowan was transferred to Nikita and Lev’s school, so that they are all together. Which he finds out when they all pile into the car to got to parent-teacher night, and all of Lev’s teachers talk with Sid like they know him. It was not a good moment for him. 

He notices that their schedule is never a hassle, there are not many snags that happen. The first morning he asks Sid who needs to be picked up where, Sid blinks at him, before grinning. He pulls up his calendar on his phone, showing him all the differently colored lines and dates. 

“Our schedule is in yellow,” he says. “Anna set all this up. You know I don’t know how to do any of this stuff. Anyway, Nicky’s is blue, Lev’s is red, Rowan’s is green. And Anna’s is purple. Me, Anna, and Joy all have it synced up, so when someone updates, we all know. That way we know if we have overlap.”

Geno stares. He never knew how much Sid had been involved in ordering his lives, until now. 

“Add me, too?” He asks, eager to be included with the planning. Sid happily complies. He pecks out Geno’s email address to add him to the calendar, his lips pursing as he does. 

“Oh, hey,” Sid says, suddenly, his head coming up to peer into Geno’s eyes. “Can you call Anna and see if she needs Joy to pick up the boys from the after-school stuff tomorrow? Anna has an appointment listed, but she had mentioned something about rescheduling?”

He can tell Sid is throwing him a soft pitch, but he didn’t need it. He has been making an effort with Anna more lately, too. 

In fact, he has had plenty of civil, genuine conversations with Anna, and he knows that is not normal.Just a few days before, she texted him about some of his t-shirts she still had, and she wondered if he wanted them. Instead of just texting back, Geno called her and they talked for almost an hour about her new blog and the science project Nicky was working on, and Lev’s sudden interest in paint. Most of their conversations revolve around their kids, but the easy friendship and laughter that he had been missing for the last few years was starting to come back. 

Since he had been taking the time on looking back at time with Anna, he realized how stress made them snip at each other. And while Geno could let some things go, Anya couldn’t. And when Geno didn’t apologize, it made things worse. 

He could see where he went wrong now. He can also see how happy Anya is, to be friends _with_ him, instead of the expectation of a husband and wife, that they both rebelled against. But Geno still waits for a vicious fight or something to go wrong, because there is no way it should be this easy with an ex-wife. 

That is Sid’s fault, too. He’s been working with Anna, taking the time to know what she needs. Joy, their nanny, works with Anna, too. It makes thing so simple, and the boys are over the moon to be kept together all the time. Sid took care of all of that, made any situation that could have been turned sour by petty anger or residual hurt, nonexistent. 

The last time Anna came to pick up the boys before a long road trip, he noticed Anna and Sid talking in Lev’s room. The boys were hollering around the downstairs, and Geno came up to see what is keeping them, thinking that they could not find Lev’s second favorite dinosaur.

“It’s a pteranodon, Papa,” Lev admonishes. “Get it right.”

He finds Anya with her hand over her mouth, eyes sparkling, clearly holding in a laugh at Sid’s expense. His red face and shushing motion, draws Geno’s eye, catching at the shy smile that perked up Sid’s lips. 

“What’s going on?” he asks, trying to sound gruff, wanting to tease, but it sounds bewildered. 

“Talking about you,” Anya says, unashamed, still a teasing twinkle in her eye, now turned on Geno. “Giving Sid a warning about your dirty habits.”

“Me? Dirty?” Geno asks with a shark-like grin. “Maybe I should warn Sid about you, you always play dirty.”

If anything, Sid’s blush burns brighter at the tease and he brushes by Geno with a mumbled apology, avoiding his gaze. Geno turns to Anna, and she just shakes her head, smiling a smug smile and following in Sid’s steps. 

He needs to pay more attention, before they really gang up on him. 

+++++++++

Road trips are harder now. Even with the schedule magic Sid and Anna managed to conjure up, Geno still misses a lot of time with his boys. Video calls become his lifeline. And then the day comes that he forgets the time difference, and he misses their bed time by forty minutes. He feels lower than low when Anna won’t wake them up for him to even say goodnight. He contents himself with the grainy view of their sleeping faces that Anna gives him. 

He sits in the darkening Edmonton hotel room, feeling like everything he had worked for is slipping away faster than he can gather it back in. A sharp knock sounds at the door, jolting him from his brooding.

He opens the door to Sid, holding his iPhone in front of himself. He shoves it into Geno’s hand, before hustling him aside, so he can come in. 

Rowan’s sleepy face is on the screen, and Geno can’t help but let his face go soft into a smile. 

“Hi, Geno!” Rowan says, cheerful and happy to see him. “I wanted to say goodnight to you, too. You’re a part of our routine, and I miss you. I’m glad Dad has you, though, if we can’t all be together all the time.”

Geno’s heart turns over in his chest in wonder at this boy and his dad. His eyes seek out Sid, even as he wishes Ro a good sleep and they chat a little about the Oilers and Lev and Rowan’s project for their teachers. Sid is leaning against the wall by the window, looking out at the view, smiling to himself. He says good-bye and passes the phone back to Sid so say his own. 

Geno can’t stop looking at Sid as he ends the call and slips the phone into the pocket of his sweat pants. He looks content, more happy than Geno has seen him look in years. When Sid turns to look at him, he realizes the way that Sid looks at him has changed. Almost as if Geno is a part of why Sid is more fulfilled. 

Geno invites him to stay, and they settle side by side on the bed, the TV on for background noise, but their conversation stays on the boys. 

“He wouldn’t get off the phone until he talked with you,” Sid tells him with a rueful grin. “He’s inherited my need for routine - “ he shoves Geno when he snorts incredulity “- but it felt important, too. You’re really important to him.”

Geno feels humbled. The feeling grows as Sid continues. 

“It takes a lot for Rowan to be as comfortable someone as he is with you,” he says, voice soft and serious. “When I took Rowan in, before the adoption was final, we spent a lot of time with a family therapist, and they warned me that it Ro may be shy around people that he doesn’t know, even as he gets older. That he feels so confident to talk to you on the phone, that’s a lot on you and the boys.”

Sid smiles at him like he really is a precious part of his life now, and Geno feels a part of him that he didn’t realize was broken, heal in a way that made his smile easier to return. 

“That why you don’t date?”

The words come before he can stop them. Sid tenses, and Geno wishes he could have found another way to ask. But before he could take anything back, Sid is already answering. 

“Yeah, in a way,” he says. “Mostly it’s just easier. Being a dad and a hockey player is hard enough. Every relationship I tried seemed like more work than ease. There never is a right fit, really.”

He’s quiet for a little bit, and Geno searches for what to say to lighten the mood, but once again, Sidney has him beat. 

“I have the team, though,” Sid says, smiling now. “And Rowan is the best thing to ever happen to me. And I have you.”

Sid looks at him when he says that, with a look that Geno used to see on Sid’s face. He didn’t know what to do with it then, and he is even more unprepared to see the Sid searching for something on his face. His smile turns a little less bright, when all he sees is Geno’s uncertainty of the moment, before Sid turns away, turning the conversation itself back to the boys. 

Geno takes the opportunity to leave things as they are between them, but even as Sid says goodnight and leaves for his own room, Geno is stuck on that smile and the way that Sid looks at him. 

He thinks about Sid for a long time that night. 

+++++++++

They head into March in the middle of the standings, about where they expect to be. With the postseason looming, Geno is faced with the fact that all the plans he had made for his retirement need to be changed. 

He comes face to face with the fact that he will be heading back to Russia, without Anna by his side. All the things that are making him happy, making every day worth it, except for his boys, are in Pittsburgh most of the year. 

Geno realizes he needs to think this out. A talk will need to be had with Anna. 

Geno’s not sure he wants to go back to Russia just yet. He plans to go, for at least the summer, but he’s not sure...he doesn’t know that making a permanent move is the right thing to do. Thinking about leaving hockey, when he was still with Anna, seemed like right step, the expected end to his career as a Russian hockey star. 

In the end, it’s Lev, and inadvertently Rowan, who help him make up his mind. 

“Papa,” Lev begins, “Rowan and I want to sign up for the Little Penguins next year. Do you think they’ll let us?”

Geno jolts with the shock of the question. He’s been resigning himself to the fact that he is heading back to Russia; his contract is up. And yet, his son has other plans. 

“Not sure,” he says, slowly. “Ask Sid?”

Lev looks over at Sid, who’s walking Nikita through what looks like a math problem, but could be a hockey play, for all that Geno knows. 

“He told me to ask you.”

Geno sits back, taking in this family he’s built, and it hits him like a zamboni. He’s never thought of it that way before, but it’s the truest word for what Sid had been growing with him. Now that he sees it for what it is, he doesn’t want to let it go. 

He tells Lev he needs to think on it and goes to do just that. 

+++++++++

They are ten games from eighty-two, and they have just clinched Geno’s last chance to chase the cup the game before, when Sid is injured. Geno goes over the boards before his thoughts catch up with feet. Sid’s awkward collision at center ice had him curled on his side, gripping his knee. Geno knows it’s not good from the pinched look around Sid’s eyes and his gritted teeth. 

Geno is there, his hand tight around Sid’s arm, holding him steady as he gains his feet and the trainer guides him on other side. 

Geno watches Sid head down the runway to the locker room and hopes for the best, turning back to the bench, picking up his glove that he had left in his haste to get to Sid, to feel him with his own hands. 

He grinds his teeth. 

He didn’t know if he wanted to do this without Sid. It hits him hard then, what he has been missing all this time. He didn’t want to do _anything_ without Sid. Fuck, what a time for a revelation. He uses that epiphany as fuel, a way to grip this game in his iron fist, and guarantee a win for his forever captain. 

He knows he would follow Sid anywhere now. 

Geno growls down the bench, reminding them all who they need to play for now.

“Go, score,” he grinds out. “Score for Sid.”

He reaches down deep inside of himself and he leaves it all on the ice, for Sid. 

+++++++++

It’s Geno’s turn to be strong for Sid. The trainers say Sid has twisted his knee, straining the ligaments. Nothing is torn, but there is nothing for him to do but rest and wait. 

Sid knows this. But he doesn’t like to be waited on much. 

Geno doesn't give him a choice. 

“You take care of me, of boys, all season long,” Geno says, firm. “You can handle us taking care for a few weeks.”

Sid looks sulky, but he can’t help his pleased look when Rowan and Lev come in from the kitchen, Lev brandishing all of the cold packs from the freezer, and Rowan walking slowly, carefully placing one foot in front of the other, a mug of steaming tea cradled in his hands. 

Nicky comes in next, hauling what looks like every blanket, comforter, and pillow from their bedrooms. Soon they have a nest in the den, all snuggled around Sid, watching the television. 

Geno catches Sid’s eyes, and he feels his heart squeeze in his chest, to have them all together like this. He shoos Nicky to the other end of the sectional sofa, sitting near enough to Sid to drape Sid’s legs over his own, a pillow propping up Sid’s knee. 

Settling in, Geno feels like this is what he’s been looking for all his life, he just needed to open his eyes to see it. It still feels not quite right, but now that Geno knows, how he feels about Sid, what he wants from his life now, he is willing to wait for the right moment. 

Rubbing Sid’s ankle with his palm, getting a sleeping grumble from Sid, he is content to wait. It is worth it. 

+++++++++

Geno tucks the covers over Nicky, brushing his hair off his forehead. Leaning down to brush a kiss and a Russian blessing to that beloved head, the last of the boys are down for the night. 

Geno returns to the den, looking down at Sid, who has been sleeping fitfully for the last hour. He kneels next to sofa, his knees cracking as he does. He brushes Sid’s curls back, just like he had done to Nicky, and can’t help the fond smile as Sid leans into it. 

“Sid, wake up,” he murmurs, softly. “We need to talk about something.”

Sid’s eyes blink open, and the golden brown of his eyes catch the light from the lamp just right, steeling Geno’s breath. 

“What’s up, G?” he asks, voice croaking from sleep. “The boys asleep?”

Geno hums his response, handing over Sid’s glass of water for a sip after Sid sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Geno moves to sit next to Sid again, when Sid swings his feet out in front of him again. 

Geno swallows. His hands are sweaty, and he’s nervous in the way that he is before big games or a lot of media attention. 

Sid’s rubbing sleep from his eyes, gingerly stretching out his knee, and working the kinks in his neck that come from sleeping on the sofa. 

Geno clears his throat, bringing Sid’s attention to him. Geno just looks at him. Sid’s hair is matted on one side from where his head had been squashed into the pillow. He had more lines around his eyes now, than when they first met. Geno likes how they crinkle up with he smiles or laughs. His stubble is a dark shadow on his chin, and Geno is helpless for him. 

“I need to tell you something important.”

Sid is serious, watching Geno closely, even as his words struggled to make themselves heard. 

“I’ve been thinking about what’s next, for me, after this season,” he begins. “I had all these plans, before, with Anna. And then I gave up, for a while.”

He can’t stand to look at Sid through this part, starting down at his hands, clenched over his knees. 

“But the boys - _you -_ helped me see what I had been missing. More I noticed, more I wanted.”

Geno risked a glance and saw Sid staring intently at him, like he does on the ice, when he’s watching the play, waiting for the moment. 

“Now, can’t see me doing anything else,” he says, quietly. “With anyone else.”

Feeling a little bit brave, he take Sid’s hand, rubbing Sid’s knuckles with his hockey calloused hands. 

“Don’t want hockey with you, Sid. Definitely don’t want life without you. Not sure what that means, yet, but want to be here, with you.”

He kisses Sid’s knuckle, just a brush. Sid turns his hand in Geno’s, cupping his jaw with his hand. Geno puts a kiss to Sid’s palm, before he lets Sid tilt his face up to look at him. 

He’s grinning. His nose is scrunched up with how hard he smiling. 

“I know,” he says. He brings his face close to Geno’s, hand still firm on Geno’s jaw, keeping him close. “I’ve known you were it for me, G, for a long time.”

Sid kisses Geno, then, a soft, firm close-mouthed kiss, reassuring and hopeful all at once. Geno feels like this was part of what he’s been missing. He kicks himself that it took so long to get his head out of his ass to see.

Sid hugs him close, drags Geno down to lean against him as he sags to lean against the back of the sofa. 

Geno lays his head on Sid's chest, and Sid cards his hand's through Geno's hair and says, "I know. I’ve known all season that your feelings for me...were different from how I always thought." 

Geno tries to sit up at that, but Sid’s hand is firm in his hair, keeping him right where he is. He hears and feels Sid’s warm chuckle under his cheek and he relaxes back against Sid. 

“The night Anna left,” Sid says. “You were very drunk.”

Geno grumbles at the mild rebuke in Sid’s tone, but he just shushes him. 

“When I helped you to bed,” Sid continues, “you very pointedly told me to get into bed with you. When I tried to ignore you, you grabbed my ass and said ‘Best ass, Sid, love your ass, love the rest of you, too. But ass is best.’”

Geno feels his face warm and he groans into Sid’s chest as he laughs more. His hands don’t stop carding through Geno’s hair, and Geno lets himself be soothed. 

“That’s why I had an idea. You said some more disjointed things, mostly in Russian, so maybe we’ll never really know what you meant, but I’d never heard you talk to me, with that kind of affection in your voice before.”

Geno could hear the wondering smile in Sid’s voice. Geno is stunned at this man, his captain of his heart and the ice that he loves, has been so patient. All this time, and most especially this year, never failing. Geno is the long suffering love of Sid's heart, other than Rowan, other than hockey, and Geno realizes.

And that's it, he's done, gone forever on this man

+++++++++

Geno wakes feeling warm. He is wrapped around the space heater that is Sid, cocooned in comfortable contentment. He sighs, happy, and feels Sid start to wake up, shifting against Geno as he does. 

“Morning,” Sid mumbles, arching his spine in a long, lazy stretch. 

“Morning,” Geno he echos in a scratchy, deep rumble. 

This thing between them is still new. Though it feels strong and solid, Geno can’t deny that some parts are maybe still a little fragile. There are still things they need to discuss and figure out. But deep down, Geno has this feeling that everything will just fall into place, like things had started to do since that night weeks ago, hell, at the beginning of this season, when Sid has just stayed. That night when everything and nothing between them had changed. Now into the postseason, 

Sid plans to join the team today, now that his knee has healed to the trainers (and Geno’s) satisfaction.

Sid turns in his arms, pressing his entire front as close to Geno as possible. That is all it took to send the thoughts and any doubts from Geno’s mind. Really, all that mattered was the warm feeling of Sid’s skin on his. 

Staying here for eternity, cocooned in blankets and comfort seemed like an excellent game plan, no over thinking, no second-guessing, just this. 

He wraps his hand around Sid’s where it had come to rest on his chest. He holds it close, firmly to him, no intention of ever letting this go. 

They don’t move again for long, blissful moments. Geno just starts to slip back into sleep when he hears the thump of a door close down the hall, followed by loud shushing. 

More thumps followed as the culprits made their way to their bedroom. Sid starts to stir, but Geno just tightens his hold, stilling Sid. Geno peaks out from under his eyelids in time to see their door swing slowly open, letting in the boy's unruly heads to peak around the door before scurrying over to the bed. Not even hesitating for a second, all three of them launch themselves onto the bed, uncaring as their flailing limbs catch Sid and Geno in sensitive places. 

They can’t feign sleep when a chorus of chirpy pleas and giggles beg them to get up. 

Sid sits up laughing, tickling at whatever wriggling side he comes to first. He grins at Geno and his heart feels so full, he thinks he could just live in this moment forever. 

+++++++++

Sid and Geno are on the ice for almost an hour after training later that day, just skating laps. The boys join them about 15 minutes in, and they break out of their laps to bat puck back to them or help when Lev and Ro inevitably get tangled up and crash to the ice. In his last postseason, Geno takes his time to savor this ice and his family with him here. 

Sid is laughing at something Nicky has done and Geno feels it come over him again. This feeling of utter contentment, of overwhelming adoration for Sid, for who he is and what he has done to make them _family._ He can’t help himself. 

He skates up behind Sid, shedding his gloves. He gets his hands under Sid’s practice jersey, dipping them under his hockey pants to grip Sid’s hips. He grins in response to Sid’s rebuking look thrown over his shoulder. Then Geno just spins with Sid, his laughter bursting out in surprise. Still so nimble on his skates, he turns in Geno’s arms and the spin-shuffle across the ice. Sid’s eyes crinkle as his laugh turns to giggles and Geno answers in kind. 

Despite this being their last season on the ice together, everything feels so right. The future standing clear and bright ahead of them. They pass some of the rookies standing at the boards, and one of them has their phone out recording them as they spin by.

“Are you recording this?” Sid asks, incredulous. 

The rookie laughs, winking. “Of course I am. It’s going to be a great feature at the wedding.”

Sid chokes on that, and almost loses his edge. “Our wedding?!” 

Geno hauls him close, keeping them upright, skating them gently. He can tell when his face turns thoughtful though, because Sid looks at him and asks, “what?”

Geno shrugs. “Sounds good to me.”

Sid stops them, staring up at Geno.

“Did you just propose to me?” he demands. He stuffs one of his gloves under his arm so he has a hand free to gesture and point at Geno. “Just like that?”

Geno shrugs again and grins. “You saying no?”

Sid splutters. “No!” He pauses. “Yes!”

Geno tilts his head to the side, realizing the rink is silent, everyone holding their breath for the moment. “No? Yes?” He asks, shaking his head. “You are making me very confused, Sid.”

Sid’s face blushes pretty when he is flustered. “Yes, you asshole,” Sid practically shouts, “Yes, I’ll marry you!”

Geno’s smile just splits his face. Love, big and all-consuming blooms in his chest. He feels like he is going to burst into a million tiny pieces any second now. Geno looks over at their boys who are all grinning back at him, tapping their sticks on the ice in time to the cheers erupting around the rink. Geno just pulls Sid to him, kissing him like nobody's watching. 

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from a quote attributed to Alice in Wonderland, “When you can’t look on the bright side, I will sit with you in the dark.”  
> Thank you to shmorgas for beta reading this fic that quickly grew faster than I expected, and for all of the encouragement and hand holding through it all.


End file.
